From the Vault: ‘Upstairs Downstairs’ was the original ‘Downton Abbey’
They both chronicled the sinking of the Titanic, World War I and the slow decline of British aristocracy.
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Happy belated 45th, Upstairs Downstairs (the original Downton Abbey!)
On October 10, 1971, Upstairs Downstairs took the world by storm. Based on an original idea by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins for a comedy called Behind the Green Baize Door, the series ran for 5 series and 68 episodes over four years from 1971-1975. As originally thought out, the series would focus on two housemaids, played […]
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Will the BBC's House of Eliott get a 1940-50's makeover?
When Jean Marsh and Dame Eileen Atkins revived the classic 70’s series Upstairs, Downstairs for the BBC back in 2011, unfortunately, it failed to survive partly due to the inevitable comparisons that both viewers and critics made with their rival costume drama Downton Abbey. Sadly, and a bit unfairly, it was given the boot after […]
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165 Eaton Place reopens its doors on Sunday
As Downton Abbey barrels towards its second series conclusion on Sunday evening in the States, it’s time for the UK to return to 165 Eaton Place with the beginning of the second series of Upstairs Downstairs. (PBS broadcast in the States is, tentatively, Spring 2013.) On all counts it has been a tough year for […]
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Feb 19 = Upstairs Downstairs premiere (UK); Downton Abbey finale (U.S.)
Sunday, 19 February, will be a night of quality telly watching whether you find yourself in the UK or the U.S. For U.S. audiences a day that we’ve all been waiting for, but a day viewers obsessed with Downton Abbey secretly hoped would never come. Sunday, February 19 at 9p ET/8p CT, the season finale […]
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River Song weds. Will honeymoon at Eaton Place
Ok, not really, but it does make good copy for those that follow both Doctor Who and Upstairs Downstairs, doesn’t it? Attention: Doctor Who final episode spoiler alert! Do not read on if you haven’t seen last episode of Doctor Who. Even if you haven’t seen it, the episode was, after all, titled, The Wedding of […]
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Dame Eileen Atkins moves out of 165 Eaton Place
According to the BBC, Dame Eileen Atkins will not return when filming commences on Upstairs Downstairs 2 in Cardiff in October. Atkins, who created the series with fellow actress, Jean Marsh, did not appear in the original 1970’s ITV series, but was cast in last years revival of the series as the free-thinking mother-in-law Maud, Lady […]
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Upstairs Downstairs opens its' doors tonight on PBS
It’s been almost a lifetime since a young head parlor maid, Rose Buck (Jean Marsh), put her hand on the bannister at an empty 165 Eaton Place for what, she thought, would be the last time. Little did she know that some 40 years later, she would return full of memories and put her hand […]
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Upstairs Downstairs – the beginning
Belgravia, 10 April: Thankfully, 165 Eaton Place recently took down the “To Let” signage and opened it’s doors once again after some 40 years of being on the market. The BBC signed a long-term lease on the newest incarnation of a television classic with the commissioning of a second series for a late Fall 2011 […]
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Downton Abbey v. Upstairs Downstairs – UFC, UK style
It’s been a long time since there has been a good television war of words. Far too long. One has to go all the way back to the 1980’s to remember the Dallas vs. Dynasty smackdown, but that’s all I can think of. Enter 2011 and we have Downton Abbey vs. Upstairs Downstairs. In one corner, […]
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